Wednesday, April 12, 2017

So Prince Wasn't Perfect, But I Still Love Him (The Most Beautiful Review)

TITLE: The Most Beautiful: My Life With PrinceAUTHOR: Mayte GarciaPUBLISHER: Hachette BooksPUBLISHING DATE: April 4, 2017

FROM GOODREADS: In The Most Beautiful,
a title inspired by the hit song Prince wrote about their legendary
love story, Mayte Garcia for the first time shares the deeply personal
story of their relationship and offers a singular perspective on the
music icon and their world together: from their unconventional meeting
backstage at a concert (and the long-distance romance that followed), to
their fairy-tale wedding (and their groundbreaking artistic
partnership), to the devastating losses that ultimately dissolved their
romantic relationship for good. Throughout it all, they shared a bond
more intimate than any other in Prince's life. No one else can tell this
story or can provide a deeper, more nuanced portrait of Prince--both
the famously private man and the pioneering, beloved artist--than Mayte,
his partner during some of the most pivotal personal and professional
years of his career. The Most Beautiful is a book that will be returned to for decades, as Prince's music lives on with generations to come.

MY THOUGHTS: So
I have to be honest here. Going into this book I had a preconceived
notion that Mayte Garcia was only writing this book to capitalize on
Prince's death and to taint his legacy in some way because anyone who
knows anything about him knows he never would have allowed this book to
come out if he were still alive. After quickly devouring this book and
actually being sad to see it end, I can honestly say I think I was
pretty much totally wrong.

"The Most Beautiful" really isn't a
book about Prince. It's a book about Mayte who just happens to have
fallen in love with one of the enigmatic celebrities of all time. Mayte
grew up as an accomplished dancer. She perfected belly dancing and also
took lots of ballet and was basically supporting herself financially by
the time she was 14. Her parents were very supportive of her, but were
dysfunctional at best. When she was young, she saw Prince on TV and in
concert and immediately commented that she would one day marry him.
Strangely enough, Prince made the same comment to someone when he first
saw Mayte. Mayte started a friendship with Prince, centered around her
dancing and his music, when she was young and once she became of legal
age, it slowly developed into a relationship. Many aspects of their
relationship are truly beautiful and they share quite a love story.
However, like most relationships, things weren't always easy. Mayte and
Prince tragically lost their son when he was born due to a horrible
genetic disease and later on, Mayte miscarried again. Neither recovered
from this loss and it did set the path for the destruction of their
marriage a few years later.

So basically after reading this, I do
believe Matye and Prince were soulmates. There is a lot of discussion
in the book about previous lives and fate and the such and I think in
their case, they may have had a point. However, even though Prince was
Mayte's soulmate, I think he had one that took precedence over her - his
career and persona. I do think she came a close second and I can't help
but feel they still loved each other when he died (I know she did), but
she was never able to fully compete with Prince himself for Prince's
attention (confusing). I learned a few surprising things while reading
this. First of all, Mayte wasn't the pushover I expected. She stood up
to Prince several times in her lifetime and wasn't just some starstruck
little brat. Secondly, her dog Mia saved her from overdosing and taking
her life following the death of her son which is why she is so heavily
involved in rescue work. And finally, Prince could be a jerk. Now I love
Prince so that pains me to say. But in reality, he was only human so
it's really no big revelation. Also, even though their marriage failed,
it don't think it tarnished the beauty of their relationship for fans.
Lots of celebrity marriages fail and I think it's often too much
pressure for people in the limelight to endure.

I really did
enjoy this book. I have a new respect for Mayte and while some of the
book wasn't necessarily pretty, she didn't slam Prince of talk
negatively about him - and believe me, she probably had reasons to do
both at times. And I still love Prince just as much. This book showed me
some of his flaws and I'm pretty sure that no matter how much I adore
the man, given the chance (and come on, there was NO CHANCE!) I would
have never started a relationship with him - gee, now my husband can
sleep better at night ;) He was too controlling and he was a
perfectionist. Everything in his life had to be perfect and I think it
was physically painful for him when things and often people, didn't
measure up to that standard.

If you are someone who likes Prince,
this is a great book to pick up. Just go into it with an open mind.
You'll read about a beautiful love story and I hope that if there is
some justice in this world, Prince and Mayte will eventually meet up
again and be able to continue their love story without all the other
stuff thrown in and without millions of eyes watching.

I'm really glad that you enjoyed this book more than you thought you would as before you read it, you didn't sound sure about it. It sounds like she hits the right tone of respecting his memory but telling who he was. I like reading about the flaws of a celebrity because it reminds you that they are just human too. How sad that not having children destroyed them.

How nice that this lived up to your expectations, even though the focus was a little different. I know next to nothing about Prince, he just wasn't my jam when I was younger, but I do respect what a force he was.